Jane Heller

New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author

Happy Opening Day!

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I’m back and so was Judge yesterday!


I turned on the TV (we get ESPN here in FL but no YES, except on MLB.TV) and watched the pre-game ceremonies, and my heart skipped as if there was a big present under my tree at Christmas. There’s nothing better than Yankee Stadium on a sunny Opening Day — especially when they win in decisive fashion.

The Orioles aren’t the O’s of old — I didn’t recognize a single player except Chris Davis — but I focused on our guys. It was fun to see Mo throwing a cutter for the first pitch, making it look as effortless as ever. And when Tanaka took the mound I was full of confidence. He may not be our official ace, but he sure looks like it at times. And then came the Judge-Stanton-Voit combo and BOOM. I was glad Bird homered later in the game, and I think having both Voit and Bird in the lineup is brilliant. But one of these days, Boone will have to choose between them for first base — like when he wants to DH other players — and it’ll be a sad day.

Meanwhile, the only negative for me is using Gardner to lead off. I know Hicks will probably lead off when he’s back, but Gardner isn’t high-percentage enough in terms of getting on base. I’d almost rather see Gleybar kick things off.

But mostly I wanted to get back on this blog, greet anyone who’s reading and cheer the Yankees on. The blog at this point in its long life doesn’t have enough readers to keep it going, so I doubt it’ll go back to being a regular diary of Yankee doings. Let’s see how it goes.

Now That Was a Great Sweep

It’s one thing to beat teams you’re supposed to beat, but the Mariners came into the Bronx and presented stiff competition. So when Chapman threw the last pitch of today’s game and nailed down the sweep of Seattle, it was thrilling. It was thrilling to prevail in the tight games all series long. It was thrilling to come from behind. It was thrilling to see Stanton have his “signature” Yankees moment with the walk-off in last night’s game. It was thrilling to beat King Felix. It was thrilling to watch Torres and Andujar and Hicks, etc do so well. And it was thrilling that German wasn’t a flash in the pan. “Lasagna,” as they call the Nicaraguan pitcher, is still a work in progress but a talented one. For now, it’s ok to have the kids starting, but come playoff time, we’ll need a veteran arm to take us deep into games. I know, I know. I’ve already beaten that drum here and Cashman’s looking, so I’ll stop.

Tomorrow night the Yanks will be here in St. Pete to play the Rays and I’ll be at the Trop – down in front on the visitor’s side – hoping to see a Janer. I’ll have my Judge jersey on, so wave at the TV if you see me :)

Why Is Losing Such a Bummer?

The Yankees beat the Mets two out of three games at Citi Field this weekend. And yet it’s last night’s loss in the finale that bugs me. Well, it bugs me that the offense wasn’t exactly robust throughout the series, but it especially bugs me that we were shut out. Watching guys like Stanton and Sanchez flail at the ball is depressing. And what happened to Didi? How do you forget how to swing at a baseball?

I know, I know. The big guys will get hot one of these days and go on a tear. But right now? I’m not happy with them.

And then there’s Tanaka’s injury. He could be on the DL awhile. Montgomery’s lost to us this season. Doesn’t Cashman have to go out and get a starter? Like now? Or is he thinking of bringing up more AAA kids?

If the Yanks are serious contenders this year, we need starting pitching and consistent offense if not always in the middle of the order then throughout the lineup.

Yeah, last night left me with a bad taste. I need to snap out of it.

On a Roll

The Yankees dropped the opener in this weekend’s series against the A’s, but they came roaring back in games 2 and 3. Game 2, especially, was a thrilling affair with Walker’s walk-off single in the 11th inning and all the drama that led up to it. (Chapman’s inning was especially nerve-wracking.) Today was more of a long, drawn-out contest because of the rain delay. With the Yanks scoring early and Severino on the mound, the game had an air of inevitability about it; I felt the win was likely. But Stanton’s 4-for-4 day was a nice touch. I’ve been waiting for him to heat up and maybe today was the beginning.

After tomorrow’s off-day, the boys will play the Nationals in D.C. Oh, the irony. I haven’t been to D.C. in years, but will be there on Tuesday and Wednesday for business – the same days they’ll be in town. I hope my mere presence in the vicinity will bring them luck.

Too Depressing to Write About

So I’ll leave yesterday’s recap and the general malaise I’m feeling about the Yankees (the losses, the injuries, the strikeouts, the bullpen) to Erik Boland of Newsday. Yes, I know it’ll get better, but right now the team is not firing on all cylinders and it shows. If the losing continues, will Aaron Boone last the season? Musing on that….

Giancarlo Stanton strikes out five times as Yankees lose to Orioles in 12

The Yankees squander an early 5-0 lead and waste a bases-loaded, none-out threat in the 12th.

New York Yankees starting pitcher Jordan Montgomery reacts

(New York Yankees starting pitcher Jordan Montgomery reacts as Baltimore Orioles designated hitter Danny Valencia rounds the bases on his two-run home run during the fifth inning of an MLB baseball game at Yankee Stadium on Sunday, April 8, 2018. Photo Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke)

As ugly as it gets.

On a day when they scored five runs in knocking out the opposing starting pitcher after two-thirds of an inning, the Yankees fell to the Orioles, 8-7, in 12 innings at the Stadium — and failed to score after loading the bases with none out in their final at-bat.

Bearing the brunt of the frustration from what was left of the thoroughly iced crowd of 37,096 — the wind-chill by the end of the 4-hour, 48-minute game was 32 degrees — was Giancarlo Stanton, who endured another nightmare day at his new home ballpark.

Stanton went 0-for-7 with five strikeouts, his second five-strikeout game in the last six. The final one came with runners on first and second in the bottom of the 12th after Aaron Judge grounded into a 1-2-5 double play to short-circuit the rally. Stanton personally stranded nine runners and the Yankees left 14 on base as a team.

“They’re not going to cheer for that, so what do you expect?” Stanton said of the booing he heard all of Sunday and most of the homestand, one he finished 3-for-28 with 16 strikeouts.

It was not the way the Yankees (5-5) — who dropped three of four to the Orioles (4-6), including a 14-inning loss in the second game of the series — wanted to hit the road for their first 2018 series against the AL East-leading Red Sox (8-1).

“Any time you throw five up there in the first and then aren’t able to muster much after that, [it’s frustrating],” Aaron Boone said. “Had a chance to finish off a good homestand there and just couldn’t get much going.”

The Orioles scored off Adam Warren (0-1) in the 12th. With one out, Pedro Alvarez pinch hit for Danny Valencia and drew a walk. After Warren struck out Tim Beckham, Anthony Santander singled and Craig Gentry won an 11-pitch at-bat, bouncing a single to left to make it 8-7.

“Can’t put the guy on with a walk there,” Warren said. “That’s what’s most frustrating.”

Orioles righthander Brad Brach somehow worked out of a massive jam in the bottom of the 12th in earning his second save.

Austin Romine, who had three two-out RBI singles, and Didi Gregorius led off with walks against Brach. When Brett Gardner’s two-strike sacrifice bunt was booted by Brach, the Yankees had the bases loaded, but Judge hit a comebacker on an 0-and-1 splitter that Brach turned into a double play and Stanton struck out on four pitches.

“That’s the situation you want to be up in, but I hit it right back at him,” said Judge, who went 2-for-5 with two walks. “The one spot you don’t want to hit it.”

Lost a bit in Stanton’s bad day and the overall odd afternoon was Jordan Montgomery’s failure to hold the 5-0 lead he was given before throwing a pitch. He was pulled with one out in the fifth after Valencia made it 5-4 with a two-run homer to deep left-center on an 0-and-2 pitch. It was the Orioles’ 10th hit off Montgomery.

He still did far better than his counterpart, Baltimore righthander Mike Wright Jr., who allowed five runs (two earned) and five hits in two-thirds of an inning, including a two-run single by Miguel Andujar and an RBI double off the leftfield wall by Ronald Torreyes.

Santander’s two-out, two-run homer on a 3-and-0 pitch from Domingo German gave the Orioles a 7-6 lead in the seventh, but Romine’s single tied it in the bottom of the inning.

“We had a lot of opportunities and we couldn’t come through,” Gardner said. “Have to learn from it and forget about it. Off day tomorrow comes at a great time and then we’ll be ready for this week.”

Mt. Crushmore!

Ok, Greg Bird is out of the picture for now, but how about the murderer’s row on display in today’s finale against the Rays? Stanton, Judge and Sanchez all hit bombs and Didi put on a HR show yesterday. Good job, guys.

Severino was impressive even if the Rays are notorious underachievers at the plate.

The important points were that Stanton rebounded from the booing he earned yesterday, Sanchez woke up from his slumbering start to the season and Judge continued to flex his muscles. If I were an opposing pitcher, I would have nightmares thinking about facing this lineup even if they do go into slumps now and then.

Speaking of offense, the O’s come to the Bronx for our first matchup with them this year. They can hit, but can they pitch? We shall see.

Oh – I forgot to mention – I’ve been spending the winter in St. Petersburg, FL (actually I did mention it in a previous post about going to the first spring training game at Steinbrenner Field in Tampa), and now I’ll be living here full time starting in June. So whenever the Yanks come into town to play the Rays, I hope to be at the Trop. I also hope to catch a glimpse of the players while they’re coming and going at their hotel. Recently, I snapped this pic at the Vinoy while the Red Sox were in town.

Do you honestly think I’m NOT going to take a photo of our heroes? Not a chance.

The Boys Are Back, and So Am I

I’ve been spending the winter in St. Petersburg, so it was only a short hop over to Tampa for today’s spring training opener against the Tigers. No matter how many years I’ve been a Yankee fan, it never ceases to make my heart race to see the new season’s players take the field in their pinstripes – even if I didn’t recognize half of them.

Stanton and Judge stood out, of course – literally – during the intro and National Anthem, even from my seat in the 200 section.

They’re so big that they dwarf the other players. But the kid who actually played multiple innings was Tyler Wade and he made a good impression. Stanton got a big hand but didn’t do anything Herculean. And Judge didn’t play at all. I guess the Yankees were saving him for tomorrow’s fans. Whatever. Luis Cessa started – it’s spring training, after all – and the hero was a kid named Jorge Saez. When he scored, there were chants of “Hip, Hip, Jorge,” which made me laugh and miss Posada at the same time.

The Yankees won 3-1 in a game without much action. I was thrilled. There I was at Steinbrenner Field feeling very Steinbrennerian in my need for the Yankees to win every single game, even the first one in February.

More to come now that there’s baseball for real!

It’s Official!

I was reluctant to post about this over the weekend just in case Stanton failed the physical or something else went wrong, but….the deal is done! The Yankees announced it this morning! We will now have the pleasure of watching last year’s NL MVP join Judge, Sanchez and the other bombers in what will be a formidable lineup.

Do I mind giving up Castro? I liked him well enough, but he and his salary were expendable with the young, less expensive infielders we have. Do I fear Stanton’s contract? It’s not my money and as long as there’s enough in Hal’s vault for a starting pitcher if we need one (I hear CC’s talking to the Angels) and as long as Stanton doesn’t spend the back end of the contract injured, it is what it is. Superstars have bad contracts. *shrug* And he’s only 28, so it’s not like we’re getting some old war horse.

The only question I have – and it’s been raised by some of the beat writers – is how he’ll handle New York. Not every superstar can. Stanton may love the bright lights of a big market, but, like David Price, he could chafe at having so much media scrutinizing his every move. There were times with the Marlins when he left the clubhouse without talking to the press after a game.

But we’ll find out soon enough. Spring training starts in two months and I’ll be at the first game at Steinbrenner Field….and I will report!

Meanwhile, what a Christmas present!

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